I was blessed with a great childhood, full of rich memories. But if I could go back and changetwo things... I would have...

Had a puppy

Gone to DisneyLand

Yeah, I never went to DisneyLand as a youth. I missed out on the "Happiest Place on Earth" (Sure, tell that to the Pink Poodle..). It wasn't until my Senior year in high school.. SENIOR GRAD NIGHT. For the fee of $100 per person, we had the park closed off to the Class of 2001 from Midnight to 6 AM -- it was ours to run... and ours to rule *maniacal laughter*

My friends and I immediately hitched on the first ride we could... the pirate water thing... I can still remember vividly going under the cave for the 1st time... that WHOOSH sound echoing through the cool, crisp night air as the darkness devoured us. Awesome

I remember the park being lit up... the dance room bumping with carefree to-be high school graduates.. the free food... all the rides you could go on. By 4:30 AM many couples were passed out on the benches. But not us... no, we were wide awake and determined to squeeze the park for all it was worth

This next game definitely brings back memories of that night. It's not by Capcom, but GRC, makers of the Genesis cult favorite Trouble Shooter. Despite less-than-stellar control which makes the game harder than it should be... Tokyo is a very nice platformer featuring a timeless household icon

In order to rescue his friends captured by the evil Pete, Mickey must conquer each section ofthe park. Pete guards the end of each section, and in between there's all manner of traps and minions to thwart your progress

Water balloons = your friend.The standard kind is flickedhorizontally and, if you holdthe button down can be bigger.The other kind is heaved upward,or, if held down will send Mickeyin the air. A decreasing meterindicates how long til the balloonpops

While in mid-air, press forward and Mickey will be shot in said direction. In certain areas this is mandatory. You can even do a diagonal downward/upward dive

Here's another cool one... hold Y and kneel down. Mickey will set a water balloon onthe ground. From here he can jump off it for an additional boost, other times using itto create a weight

Or it could be used to pickoff enemies below! Ace!

A brief look now at just some of the levels...

STAGE 1

Really basic and eases you in.The look of the game immediatelygrabbed me here. I like Mickey'srepresentation, much more old-schoolhere than as seen in Capcom's games...

Surf's up dude!

Ooooh... atmospheric

Absolutely gorgeous. But before you can enjoy it for too long the treasure chests (all but one) come alive

Make your way out to themandatory fire section ofthe level....

... And then the mandatory fire dripping section

Back to the cool night air we go...take care of those pigeons!

The bastard tosses food in the water to attract the biting fish as you swim by

You'll need to come up for abreather, here's a nice littlesection meant just for that

Now there's a perfect starry night!

Pete here is easy... just jump over the barrels and spray him. He doesn't go downwithout a dirty fight though... check out his Final Fight boss 1 impression

Whew, that's only stage 1! Enjoy it, because it only gets harder...

STAGE 2

Usually brown is a bland colorin games but GRC made it lookexceptional here

STAGE 3

OH ****

STAGE 4

This is a vertical level that starts off showing bottom to top, top to bottom. Notice the change below...

Remember the old shooter In The Hunt where that giant stone creature constantlystalked you up the screen? Same thing here!

STAGE 5

Those monks are tough to dodge...

STAGE 6

This creepy ghost face greetsyou early on... it's an easysitting target though with noattacks, but it's a festive touch

CLOSING THOUGHTS

As it was with Mickey & Donald, Mickey is not a 1-hit wonder. On easy you have 8 health bars (in the form of balloons), medium 5 and hard 3. The control may cramp your style but it can be worked around, and if you're looking for a Mickey game that is CHALLENGING for a change, this one does the job. Perfect to kill a couple hours with on those dark rainy Sunday afternoons

It's not in the class of Capcom's SNES Mickey Trilogy, but GRC did a commendable job of not disgracing the proud name